Title

Author

Degree Type

Thesis

Date of Award

2015

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Alex Tuckness

Abstract

The use of the category “conservative” is common and widespread both for political scientists and for the general public. Yet, there doesn’t appear to be a scholarly consensus, nor a consensus among the general public with regard to what the primary value of conservatism is. There does seem to be a consensus that the best historical archetypal conservative was Edmund Burke. This paper examines the politics of Burke and comes to the conclusion that the primary value that Burke promoted throughout his career was the value of “durable independence”. The paper also makes the case that there is some evidence to suggest that this type of conservatism is both still alive today in American politics, and that it is quite popular.